Monday, February 05, 2007

Deep snow at Fossil Beds

The winds finally died down this weekend, and on Sunday morning, I went snowshoeing at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Rangers there have been raving about the snowpack this winter, and they weren't exaggerating - there's a good 3- to 3 1/2-foot base right now, and very few tracks. I had to share the park with a half-dozen other 'shoers as well as a pair of cross-country skiers. It was that perfect kind of winter day - blue sky, sun so warm I had to shed my jacket, and the snow, untouched, untracked and sparkling. The park is open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.... I found myself wishing it had some nighttime hours for a full-moon adventure.